Hurricane lantern



Feb. 21, 1939. .3 MR 2,148,2i?

HURRICANE LANTERN Filed June 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y Jr Feb. 21, 1939.

B. NIER HURRICANE LANTERN Filed June 29, 1938' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 29, 1938, Serial No. 216,608 In Germany May 15, 1937 4 Claims.

My invention relates to hurricane lanterns, and more particularly to means for sealing the basin of a hurricane lantern against escape of fuel when the lantern is not used.

Various means for this purpose have already been proposed but have never been adopted because they either lack reliability or are so complicated that the cost is prohibitive.

It is an object of my invention to provide a sealing device for the purpose specified which is of simple construction and easily manipulated, is without springs and does not involve the necessity of removing the burner before the basin is sealed, and is absolutely reliable.

To this end, in combination with a basin which is subdivided into an air chamber and an oil reservoir by a partition, a burner casing, and a wick tube in the casing, I provide a pipe which is inserted in the partition and projects into the air chamber for the admission of the wick. On this pipe, I place a sealing ring and arrange a valve which can be placed on the seal, with means for swinging the valve into opening and closing position with respect to the seal,

In the accompanying drawings a hurricane lantern equipped with my improved sealing device isillustrated byway of example.

In the drawings- Fig. l is an elevation of the lantern,

Figs. 2 and 3 are partly sectional elevations showing the lower portion of the lantern with the valve of the sealing device closed and open, respectively.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the basin.

Referring now to the drawings, the basin of the lantern is subdivided into a fuel reservoir b and an air chamber a by a partition 8. Av detachable burner casing g is secured to the top plate of the air chamber a by bayonet joint means m. Similar means including angular members h at the top of the burner casing g and tongues h at the lower side of a gallery i connect the gallery to the burner casing. A burner f, with a wick tube (1 for the wick o, is inserted in the casing g, and a spindle with a knurled handle is is provided for raising and lowering the wick. The central por-' tion of the gallery i is formed as a slotted cowl n for the wick o, and its perimetral portion supports the chimney p.

A short pipe 1' is inserted at the centre of the partition 8 for the admission of the wick-o, and an annular seal e is placedabout the pipe on its outer side, with its upper end projecting beyond the upper end of the pipe r for a short distance. A valve c is formed at the inner end of an arm Fig. 4, which is keyed on a vertical shaft a mounted to rotate in .the basin, with its upper end projecting above the top plate of the air chamber a'. A handle m is secured on the upper end of the shaft d.

A U-shaped lever I which is fulcrumed at Z, Fig. 1, is arranged for engaging below the gallery i.

When it is desired to store, or ship, the lantern with its basin filled, the handle k of the wick raising spindle is turned to the left in Fig. 1, disengaging the bayonet means 112. and engaging the bayonet means h, h so that the burner casing g is detached from the top plate of the air chamher a and attached to the gallery 2. The upper end of the lever l is now depressed and the gallery 2', with the casing g, is elevated. When the casing is in its elevated position, the wick o is raised by turning the handle is until the wick is in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, care being taken that the wick is not raised beyond the pinion on the spindle. The handle m, Fig. 4, is now turned anti-clockwise to swing the valve. into its closing position on the seal 0. The lever Z is now operated by elevating its upper end to place the casing 9' on the top plate of the air chamber a and the handle 70 of the wick raising spindle is turned to the right, engaging the bayonet means 101. and disengaging the bayonet means h, h. The burner casing g is now secured to the basin and the lower end of its wick tube o bears against the valve 0 from above and compresses the seal 6 so that a tight closure is effected and escape of fuel from the reservoir 1) is prevented. When it is desired to use the lantern, the handle is is turned to the left as described, disengaging the burner casing g from the air chamber a. at m, and connecting it to the gallery 2 at h, h. The casing and the gallery are now elevated by depressing the upper end of the lever l, the valve 0 is swung away from the seal e by turning the handle m clockwise and the lever Z is raised to replace the casing 9 into its position on the top plate of the air chamber a. The bayonet means at m are engaged, and the bayonet means at h, h are disengaged, by swinging the handle is to the right, as described. Finally, the handle la is rotated to lower the wick 0 into the fuel reservoir, and the lantern is now ready for use.

It will appear that my novel device is superior to the known devices on account of its simplicity and reliability. There are no springs, the burner is not removed, extra closing parts which may get lost, are not present and contamination of the fuel is prevented as well as escape.

I claim:

1. In a hurricane lantern, a basin, a partition defining an air chamber above the basin, a burner casing, a wick tube in the casing, means for raising and lowering the wick, a pipe inserted in the partition and projecting into the air chamber, for the admission of the wick, a seal on the pipe, a valve arranged to be placed on the seal, and means for moving the valve into opening and closing position with respect to the seal.

2. In a hurricane lantern, a basin, a partition defining an air chamber above the basin, a burner casing, a wick tube in the casing, means for raising and lowering the wick, a pipeinserted in the partition and projecting into the air chamber, for the admission of the wick, a seal on the pipe, a valve arranged to be placed on the seal, means for moving the valve into opening and closing position with respect to the seal, and means on the burner for forcing the valve against the seal in its closing position.

3. In a hurricane lantern, a basin, a partition defining an air chamber above the basin, a burner casing, a wick tube in the casing, means for raising and lowering the wick, a pipe inserted in the partition and projecting into the air chamber, for the admission of the wick, a seal on the pipe, a shaft mounted to turn on the basin, a handle secured on the shaft for turning it, and a valve operatively connected to the shaft and arranged to be placed on the seal.

4. In a hurricane lantern, a basin, a partition defining an air chamber above the basin, a burner casing, a wick tube in the casing, means for raising and lowering the wick, bayonet joint means for connecting the casing to the basin, a gallery, bayonet joint means for connecting the gallery to the casing, means for elevating the casing and the gallery connected to the casing by said bayonet-joint means, a pipe inserted in the partition and projecting into the air chamber, for the admission of the wick, a seal on the pipe, a valve arranged to be placed on the seal, and means for moving the valve into opening and closing position with respect to the seal.

BRUNO NIER. 

